


Sunsets and Starry Skies

by myommie



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alien Colress, Alternate Universe, Autumn, Human Ghetsis, Minor Violence, Nature, Other, Outer Space, Roadtrip, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22079110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myommie/pseuds/myommie
Summary: The Autumn of 1999, in which the unlikely duo of Ghetsis and Colress set out on a Northbound trip through the American West Coast.
Relationships: Achroma | Colress/G-Cis Harmonia | Ghetsis Harmonia
Comments: 16
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

“Despite my proceedings, the grueling labors I dedicated to my research of you bear no fruit, your mere existence defies me.” 

An enormous spaceship, far beyond the technological capability of mankind with the appearance of a futuristic, yet 18th century inspired frigate, floated on the border of an artificial solar system. One sole entity manned the ship who presently stood at the starboard, yelling accusations at the uninhabited planets. However, the noise would never be able to penetrate the void of space clasping the oxygenated force field surrounding the deck. The entity was anthropomorphic in appearance, yet that was all that could be discerned given their current disposition towards wild gesticulations of disappointment and embittered hatred, but quickly, they ceased the movements and robotically typed onto a rectangular screen situated on a clothed forearm. The contraption appeared to be a console of some kind. They spoke to it:

“Planetary system no. 1120 is a failure. Explanation: Inactivity on all surfaces as always, see in-detail report log.”

The screen read: “TRIAL FAILURE ACKNOWLEDGED. COMMENCE ERADICATION? YES/NO.”

The figure looked up to view their creation, their idle stance allows us brief observation of a human-like face that wore orbicular glasses, eyes half-lidded and mouth slightly opened as if in a monotonous gasp. The ever-present force field had a reflective gloss to it and mirrored the entity’s aloof face to their own direct view. Their eyes were glazed over and stared without movement, and disregarded all that surrounded them, including the reflection, and looked at nothing. 

They glanced down to the prompt on the monitor and clicked “NO.” 

“Locate the nearest inhabited planet, I need a research subject that is alive.”

“PROCESSING REQUEST… LOCATED. MOSTLY WATER, INHABITED BY CIVILIZATION. UNCLAIMED BY ANY INTERSYSTEM ALLIANCE. NO EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT SPACE TRAVEL.”

The entity’s stiff grimace they didn’t realize they wore was replaced by a crooked grin.

“Take me there.”

Preferring the safe light of day, the being commanded their frigate to a well-lit region at peak exposure to the sun’s rays, given the unnatural, perpetual spinning of the planet. The frigate gradually descended into the coastal region of a landmass. Unfamiliar forms, rare clouds, populated the region’s sky in picturesque abundance, enormous, mountainous terrain grazed the clouds but soon gave way to a paradise of rolling hills packed with lush green flora. At a moment of slight dismay for encountering such a wonderfully green world with land that did not enable a safe landing, a pool of water - an enormous lake - revealed itself, it’s near perfect reflecting of the painted sky sang with visible ripples on its surface - like the alluding to a vast, unfounded parallel world. The frigate situated itself into the water with an odd lack of momentum, only inspiring a few waves that failed to reach the shore. After all landing procedures concluded, the entity walked to the bow of the ship and deactivated the force field. The chilling scent of the planet’s nature resolved to invade the deck of the ship, dispersing then consuming the unfeeling atmosphere that was shelled in perpetual space travel. The figure stretched its arms in contemplation, basking in the warmth of the high sun, breathing in the rich air, and lost consciousness in its exhalation, falling into the glassy water.

Vision and sensation returned to our otherworldly protagonist, their face plastered against a brief patch of sand and their body was half-submerged in water. Striving to regain their composure, the figure took to standing up, still dizzy in their slow accustomation to the foreign atmosphere. They slicked back their short damp hair out of their eyes in a futile attempt to restore it to its previous dignity. Its hand slightly grazed a pair of small antennae the protruded from its hairline. The entity turned around to view their frigate that was veiled by a warm and golden hue produced by the setting of the sun, the body of water it floated on darkened to a black and inaccessible humor. But what compelled this extraterrestrial being the most was the array of colors that courted the sky. Clouds increased in drama and magnitude, with sharp and definite forms of shadow within, along with joyous meshings of softness one cloud would initiate to the other. The pigments were incomprehensible to the being, the wildest of colors danced together, the rich reds and oranges of the atmosphere, and the light and frivolous pinks in the clouds, it inspired the entity into exhilaration, inspiration and passion!

“This planet! Whatever it is called, whoever it is inhabited by, does not matter - I claim this planet! I desire to be forever present to the comfort of its atmosphere, my passion for research is rekindled, as if a blindfold was gloriously removed, I will continue to research the life this universe has sheltered, and its potential to contain and bestow godly power!”

The entity sank into a fit of laughter - deceptively lacking in cacophony as it resembled the innocent giggles of a child. 

“With my resolve, I will trek from this canto to a new life, a rebirth of my lost passions.”

They entered the forest.

An unknown facility lay hidden in the open barren, Nevada desert. Miles of flat land, with the occasional dirt path, gave a sense of hostile protection in which only the permitted may enter and escape out into the human world as they please - this is the case for Ghetsis Harmonia. A private funder for nationalized astronautical research in Area 51, through acts of fraud and embezzlement, he aims to accelerate the advancement of technology to assist in his own self-interest. However, his plans for future reign have only been conceptual as he reasoned that the rapid consolidation of power is the most pressing matter. But he shivers at the thought of his approaching 40th birthday, reminding him of how limited time he has to produce a sizable influence on the Earth’s history. 

Deep into night, a loud, frantic commotion took control of the facility. Ghetsis was awake in his dimly lit office, he walked out in a stride of annoyance but felt his chest tighten. Scientists in lab coats sprinted down the hallway, filtering out of the office and lab room complex. He stopped a scientist in their tracks,

“What is the meaning of this?”

The scientist paused and spoke without breath, “Sir, they captured one.”

“Captured what?” 

“An alien.”

Joining the waves of people in a fast walking pace, Ghetsis and all exited the structure to greet the specialized army’s arrival. The desert floor’s nightly azure appearance was rudely interrupted by helicopter spotlights that imitated the daytime’s searing sun, the blackness of the sky was a sight to behold: stars, constellations, a distant planet of our own solar system - they littered the view above in an act of divinity. A containment vehicle took center stage in the middle of the surrounding high ranking staff and scientists of Area 51; a building, made equally for the underground containment of unexplainable beings, slowly opened its blast-resistant door, meters thick. Ghetsis only heard fragments of conversations in the chaotic crowd:

“Apparently it’s anthropomorphic, near-human.”

“We are free to spectate, the creature is restrained.”

“May God have mercy on humanity.”

The crowd was impenetrable, what weary dismay Ghetsis felt! He needed to behold the extraterrestrial, he must. In an act of instinct, he began to push his way through, nearing the front, the vehicle began to move towards the opened door, and stopped, guards walked to the back of it and opened its hatch-like door. Silence overtook the scene. The alien was briefly escorted to the facility. It really did look human! The being took on a dignified stride, with no falter in posture. Although not particularly tall, its antennae and prong that near fully orbited its head enhanced its height. It wore strangely familiar clothing, a light grey coat that could even be worn by humans, if it were not for the alien’s four-armed anatomy. It proceeded to look around, briefly scanning its observers but paused at the sight of Ghetsis, it’s two eyes stared intensely, and were soon drawn away as the creature was forcefully guided into the containment building that promptly sealed.

The night was restless. Fear, confusion, excitement, seeped from the facility. Ghetsis remained in his office for the rest of the night, his heart pounding whenever the eyes of the extraterrestrial entered his mind. It was imperative - he needed to see it again. Such a monumental occasion must not be kept brief, the alien looked at him, for a reason he does not yet understand, but out of everyone, he looked at him. Ghetsis’ excitement was unparalleled to any of his other life experiences - all except for one. A memory perfectly recalled, a flashbulb memory one would say, in his tender youth, the news channel reported an occasion never before seen by mankind - the moon landing. His young self widened his eyes and clenched his fists in awe, how can such a fantastic thing be possible, oh! - ,“What a piece of work is man!” Ghetsis exclaimed in allusion. Access to the heavens above, the sailors of the sky! Agh! Ghetsis paused, deep in thought, a few minutes, then an hour of contemplation. He spoke: “No matter, you can always reestablish your collections with the government, even at whim. They’ll always crawl back to a patron, even what they would see as a traitor to humanity.” Resolution conquered his mind, he will meet with the alien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my fic! I hope you enjoy the story :)


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks were carried out meticulously, Ghetsis resumed his responsibilities at a normal pace given the situation: board meetings, business deals, but gradually put more of his time and focus into his plan as commotion about the alien died out. Obtaining the access key and observation schedule was far easier than it should’ve been, a guard or scientist’s loyalty is easily abated with money, given that government employment really isn’t that kind on a paycheck. In any case, after a month of planning, Ghetsis decided to put his plan in action. It was midnight, Ghetsis left his office to an empty hallway and began his trek to the containment area. Formidable gates that closed the underground infrastructure, sealed shut, were kind to Ghetsis’ keycard, he quickly walked down the winding path of stairs with light steps and finally reached the bottom-most hallway, devoid of any other human presence. Its layout was akin to a mental institution, not that he’d know how one looks like. He didn’t know how many, if any of the rooms were in use, but his destination was at the end of the hall. The dim lights of the hallway were stable, unflickering, causing Ghetsis to feel a tightly coiled unease in his heart. He approached the door and swiped his keycard on the lock, and opened the door. He was greeted by a strange scene to say the least, the room had no appearance of what one would think of as a “containment room” rather, it looked more like an interrogation room, with plain walls and furnished with two chairs, a foldable table, and a lamp that was not turned on, making the room nearly pitch black. The seat facing the doorway was occupied by the alien, sitting neatly, almost robotically, looking at Ghetsis. Ghetsis failed to speak at this crucial moment, so the alien spoke:

“I would have thrown this lamp at you if it were not glued to this desk.”

Ghetsis was dumbfounded! “Huh?”

The alien scoffed, “Don’t think you can fool me, I unwisely thought that humans were the only ‘intelligent’ lifeforms on this planet, your poor disguise says it all!”

“-disguise?”

The alien was clearly offended, “your battle horns! You are somehow accepted by the humans even though you have two more than me!”

Ghetsis, understandably, did not know what to say. “My… hair?”

“H-” the alien was enraged! They scowled in anger and stood up in a bolt, pressing their hands down onto the table, “are you the humans’ ruler?”

“No?”

“A self-proclaimed deity?”

“...No?”

“Then what compels you to wear your hair in such an odd fashion?”

Ghetsis thought for a moment, “The same reason you have a battle horn.”

“A biological necessity?”

“-yes.” He looked down briefly to falsely indicate a sense of embarrassment.

“Very well,” The alien sat back down in a calmer demeanor. “The interrogation is over, you are free to go.”

“Wait, no! I have a few interrogations for you as well.” Ghetsis was perplexed at the feeling of someone claiming to have power over him, it wasn’t right, he must refute.

“Hasn’t your posse of astronautical fanatics interrogated me enough? Ask them instead! I refuse to comply.” The alien turned its swivel chair away from the sight of Ghetsis.

“Don’t do that.”

“Why?”

“I command you!”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Hrr, Mark me!” Ghetsis huffed in frustration.

The alien remained silent.

Ghetsis thought of some sort of way to provoke a response from the alien, something other than his first thought of challenging them to a duel of battle horns. “... What is your name?”

The alien spun back to face him, “Why should I say?”

“I want to be able to address you properly.”

“Tell me yours first.”

“Ghetsis Harmonia.”

The alien shook its head as if it forced itself to wake up, “Is that how a human name sounds like?”

“Oh, well, not exactly, since all names evoke a different variation of pitches and sound when pronounced.”

“But yours is still a human name, correct?” The alien tilted its head slightly, in an almost cat-like motion.

“Yes, it is.”

“Then it’s the first human name I have ever heard, and with this absence of competition, I can even claim to myself that its the most euphonic name within your race. Ghetsis Harmonia...”

“Was that a compliment?” Ghetsis desired to continue this unbelievably pleasant conversation with the alien, but them saying his name made his body tremble in emotion, the alien observed this reaction. 

“I’m only stating facts. Colress Achroma, that is my name. You are the first that I have told this to, this is a mutually monumental occasion.” Colress unconsciously squinted his eyes, all they said was true.

“Colress Achroma…”

“May I ask a question?”

“Oh, of course,” Ghetsis sat down on the unoccupied chair.

“Why are you humans nocturnal? Your army seized me at night, your interrogators spoke to me with only the light of this lamp, you speak to me in the dark! Do you not appreciate the wonders of daylight?”

“Oh, you have the wrong impression, humans aren’t naturally nocturnal.”

“So does it only apply to disrespectful grunts and inarticulate interrogators?” Colress feigned deep thought.

Ghetsis felt slight despair at the remark, “I can’t answer something like that.” Ghetsis grimaced, when was the last time he looked at the clouds in an instance of profound thought? He mostly gazes at the stars. “I look at the night sky.”

“Do the stars fascinate you?”

“Yes,”

Colress switched the lamplight on. They stared at each other for a second time. Ghetsis noticed that Colress communicated without opening their mouth.

“You would go against your nature, just to have a glimpse at the universe beyond your atmosphere?” Colress was fascinated with Ghetsis.

“Of course.”

“Then I’d like to propose a compromise.”

Ghetsis’ heart pounded.

“Help me escape this facility, and assist me in my navigation of the human world to find my ship, and I will bring you aboard my ship and let you see the stars you adore. Do you accept?” Colress swallowed in anticipation.

“I do.”

“I’m glad, when will we commence this operation?”

“Oh, about that. I planned to break you out tonight.” Ghetsis smiled in satisfaction, choosing to contemplate their agreement at another time.

Colress tilted their head again, now in the other direction, “Really? How come?”

“In all honesty, it was because you glanced at me at your arrival here.”

“Oh,” Colress looked away in embarrassment, they were actually staring at Ghetsis’ hair prongs… “Y-yeah I think I did?”

“You think?”

“No, no! I did look, yes, I did.” Colress couldn’t seem to regain their composure.

“Ah, well before we continue any more conversation, I think it would be in our best interest to leave this place.”

“Oh, of course!”

“Myaha! Allow me to guide you then, Colress.”


	3. Chapter 3

Ghetsis escorted Colress through the hallway, he ensured that the security cameras in his path were deactivated through excessive and intrinsic bribery - one cannot be too careful. They walked in silence to the outside of the facility and to the staff parking lot. The night sky was beautiful, Ghetsis failed to restrain an amorous gaze at the sky which baffled and excited Colress, but the alien observed a tragic tinge in the face of the man, one that Colress did not know how to react to. 

“Oh, these are vehicles we humans use for land transportation, they are most likely slower than what you are used to, but it is the fastest way out of here.”

“I see, the difference in their design and quality leads me to assume a capitalistic society, is this correct?”

“Precisely,” Ghetsis smiled at Colress’ deduction. “This one is mine, you can enter the passenger seat by pulling on the handle right there.” They entered Ghetsis’ 1999 Toyota and took off, there was no guard at the gate for the ten minutes it took them to leave, bribery at its finest.

Ghetsis’ plan was less definite and more theoretical at this point, he didn’t think he would be able to escape with Colress so quickly, but no matter, he embarked southwards for a two and a half-hour drive to Las Vegas, he intended to use the city to his advantage in losing the trail of government agents that would inevitably attempt to follow his tracks. As Ghetsis drove, Colress fiddled around with the components of the car, turning the window handle, and rudely opening the glove box. 

“There isn’t much of interest in there.”

“Clearly, human technology is appallingly inferior to mine.”

“It’s not like we have a better option as of now, unless you can telepathically summon your ship.”

“Not yet...” Colress took a moment to observe Ghetsis’ appearance, they contemplated his tall stature, taller than the other humans they briefly observed; mint colored hair draped onto Ghetsis’ shoulders, and his three prongs were, sadly, not battle horns. What Colress found especially interesting was Ghetsis’ anatomy, and how it differed from the other humans. Firstly he wore a strange outfit that didn’t comply with the rest of his species. A neat disposition of a black shirt, pants, and shoes was covered by a strangely collared, black cloak, with a pattern in the motif of symbolic grey eyes. Secondly, he appeared to have only his left arm, and his right eye was covered by an eyepiece with a black border and red-tinted glass. The red tint somehow almost perfectly matched Ghetsis’ eye color in both hue and luster - one that causes an individual to reminisce of rubies. His face had a certain look of exhaustion, not just because of the night’s events, but one that seemed perpetual. But Colress knew how to counteract this! They whispered to themself, as if an omnipotent being was watching, “observe…” 

“Where will we be heading now?”

Ghetsis’ eyes lit up like rubies under a light. Colress made a quiet giggle, there was something endearing about it, although they couldn’t pinpoint what it was that they felt. 

“We’ll be headed to the nearest major city, my colleagues will most likely begin to search for us by the break of dawn, they’re rather difficult to elude but I have my methods.”

Colress gasped in amusement, “You betrayed your colleagues for me?”

“Betrayal is common between individuals with tremendous power, but I feel like this is my most monumental one so far.”

“Oh! So you seek power?”

“...It is my end goal, yes.”

“Hee hee! Solidarity.”

“Myah?”

“The gaining of power! Well, for my case it is more leaned to the scientific discovery of power, your goal that leans towards its consolidation is something I can respect.” 

“Like some mad variation of Pandora? Myaha! I wonder what you will release onto this world.” Ghetsis was happy to observe that there’s a power-seeking individual open to non-mutually-manipulative conversation, it was nice. 

Colress’ gleeful smile transformed into an inquisitive look, “...but you do realize the extent of this betrayal, correct?”

Ghetsis sighed, “I do, I presume you apply my betrayal to all of humanity. But its no matter. I’m rich enough to work my way out of any situation!”

Colress ignored the joke, “But don’t you care about the fate of the human race, your own planet? As you said, I might open a box releasing the most horrid of things,” Colress breathed shallowly, awaiting a response, they saw Ghetsis’ face wince.

“I’m not too sure how to respond to a question like that.”

An amalgamation of emotions cumulated into frustration within Colress, but they kept their calm: “Oh, I apologize for my insensitivity.”

Silence took over for a few minutes, but the lack of banter was excruciating torture for both Ghetsis and Colress, Ghetsis spoke: “I presume that you arrived here in a venture for power, but how did you end up in the facility?”

“Hm? That is a long tale but I am eager to tell it to pass the time. You are correct in your deduction, I came here in search of power through life after just over a thousand attempts at artificially producing it myself, but I digress. I proceeded to land in a wonderfully situated lake at the center of a lush evergreen forest that seemed to stretch for miles surrounded, protected even, by rugged mountains. Inspired by the delight of your planet’s natural scenery, I regained my love for research and entered the forest.”

“Ah, evergreen you say? Its currently Autumn, the season in which this planet tilts to shine less light on our hemisphere, perhaps your ship is in a Northern setting.”

“Seasons! You speak of the mind-bogglingly rare occurrence so very lightly! Thousands of life inhabited planets would only fantasize of such a peculiar orbit. My arrival was promptly greeted by your sunset, with soft blendings of hues that gave the scenery’s nature an entirely different connotation altogether! The cool green and blues were easily overcome with an overlay of golden light that, I can go as far as to say, made this planet look entirely different than moments before!”

“I’ve never thought of it in that manner, your insight challenges my preconceptions of nature as something that solely exists to embody life, but you, one who has seen plenty of worlds, are drawn to fondness over an Earthian sunset? I am dazzled at this claim, but ask you to continue your tale.”

“That I will! But before I do, what is the name of your planet?”

“Earth.”

“How bold and fitting, what a name! Let me continue, I proceeded to enter the forest in observation of its flora, everything takes its root in the earth which I found fascinating, I began to dig up your planet’s floor in analysis of its molecular components, using my newest multifunctional admiral console,” Colress smiled giddily at Ghetsis as they raised two of their four hands towards the dashboard. “What appears like decorative glove’s palms is a molecular analyzer that categorizes and stores information of the object held for further use at another time, observe.” Colress pressed their palm on a briefcase that was beside their legs. “Oh, the skin of a bovine, chemically treated as to ensure durability for years to come! My glasses are also a part of my console, they list the chemical composition of the item on my side of the lense. And they change shape too, more for entertainment purposes, but still related to their functionality: rectangular for chemical analysis, orbicular for image recording, and elliptic for written language analysis!”

Ghetsis glanced at Colress, his glasses really were rectangular unlike before! “Now that you revealed such information, does that mean you were recording our first interaction?”

“Of course! Didn’t I say it was a monumental occasion for me as well?”

“That I can’t argue with.”

“Hee hee! Anyways, my analysis of the soil was brief, it had carbon as always, the root of life! I attempted to communicate with the sentinal-like flora that populated the region, but their cellular structure was far too different from mine to initiate any comprehensible conversation, I took to communicate with the shrubs that were more loosely attached to the earth, but was unsuccessful in doing so. They became worthless to me as they wasted my time. My telepathic communication, as I’ve seen you observe, is a byproduct of my biological receptors, antenna you may call them, that protrude from my head. With this, I can communicate to any being with a close enough internal and psychological structure as mine. I can hear what they say through instinctual translation but I am unable to mind-read, there is too much variation in every creatures’ process of thought, as if everyone contains their own internal language indecipherable to all but themselves.”

“That is amazing! I’ve only heard of such powers in works of fiction, I can’t convey how much you excite my merely human mind.”

“Really?” Colress felt their face flush, “I do take pride in all biological and technological aspects of myself.”

“Rightfully so. Colress, you are fascinating” Ghetsis smiled kindly. 

“Ah!” Colress has yet to hear a compliment like that from someone other than themself! Their antennae curled in delight, “Y-yes I am!”

“Myahaha! But I interrupted your tale, please continue.”

“Oh, of course! After my frustration, I heard a creature calling for me telepathically! I haven’t experienced such a thing except on recordings of my planet of origin, I was in dismay that perhaps someone of my race was here! But I searched and searched, and no other figure like mine was in sight, until I look downwards! ‘Mollusk!’ I yelled, your planet Earth has a version of the creature my species evolved from centuries ago! It crept daintily on a damp leaf below, I picked it up gently by its shell, and placed it on my palm. Their antennae quivered slightly at its conveying of sentiment, it had no language, but I knew they felt joy. I expressed my happiness towards its existence as well, but knowing of my rising emotional instability, I placed the lad down on their leaf of origin and ran off farther into the forest. It was at that moment that I was seized by anthropomorphic figures of your species clothed in anonymity and tranquilized with some horrid chemical. I sigh in relief that my console is irremovable without permission from me. They woke me up in the interrogation room you found me in. I had to endure weeks of psychological prying, that I did not answer to truthfully, as they exchanged pieces of information having to do with the human experience in return for my compliance. I even had to suffer eating tasteless tablets of nutrients and liquids for nourishment! The horror!”

“Oh,” Ghetsis was saddened by the inevitable turn of events from the naturalistic world to rigid human interrogation.

“Yes, it was unfortunate, I gladly show contempt for the animalistic creatures in this world that even think of containing me.

“Understandably so.”

“Ah but you are different than them, you deserve praise for being my guide in this strange world, and I have told only the truth to you and plan to continue doing so” Colress 

smiled. 

“Thank you, and I will return that sentiment. But I really must know the reason as to why you stared at me at your arrival at the facility.”

“Oh, about that, your demeanor is so different from other humans, that I assumed you were a fellow alien! I was offended at the thought of an invader claiming this Earth before me and wanted to initiate a duel for dominance using our battle horns - well, mine and your hair.”

“I see,” Ghetsis blushed in embarrassment, “my hair is, only a choice of fashion.”

“One that I respect! Our prongs make us similar in some sense.”

“Hm, It seems like it does! I feel comfortable regarding you as a close acquaintance.”

“Like business partners?” Colress smiled. 

“Myaha, of course!”

“Then the feeling is mutual!”


	4. Chapter 4

The car ride continued with aimless banter, both individuals secretly observing the other’s verbal demeanor and cues. Colress squinted his eyes to a distant, illuminated sign, their glasses squashing down from a rounded shape to an elliptic shape. 

“Welcome to… Las Vegas?”

“Yes, It’s a city where we will plan out our journey and rest for the remainder of the night. It’s currently 3:13 am, us humans use a time schedule based on the Earth’s day-night cycles, we typically sleep when the sky darkens until the rise of daylight.”

“How peculiar! My species only requires sleep once a year in a two-month hibernation, but this scheduled sleep sounds interesting to attempt.”

“Oh! you may look human but you are truly different from us, I wonder what evolutionary fate made you appear as you do now...”

Colress observed the barren desert transform into a brightly lit metropolis, is this human architecture? Like the flora they previously observed, it seemed like the planet’s inhabitants build off of the soil below! Most structures that surrounded the street appeared to be lined with neon colors, like a peculiar take at the hues of a supernova. Impressive shapes decorated the area, such as a miniature needle-like tower, or an enormous wall-like structure, with rows and rows of windows embellished with a golden light, and fountains at its entrance and base! The city appeared lively, even deep into the Earthen night. Colress still debated if humans were nocturnal, or maybe it was a subspecies of humans? Perhaps the nocturnal ones were the rude ones, hee hee! The dirt road that Ghetsis drove on was also replaced by a smoothened lane of some sort and more vehicles, all of different shapes and quality, populated the region. Humans roamed the sidewalks that enclosed the streets, some more well dressed than others, some cheering, and others silent. Colress thought: “But none like my dear guide!” Their eyeglasses rounded out as they began to type on their sleeve-attached consoles.

“Is this your human civilization?”

“Only a portion, this desert-isolated center is famed for its hotels, food, entertainment, shopping, and gambling; an escape of sorts for some.”

“Interesting! Where will we be staying?”

“It’ll be at a hotel named the Venetian that opened a few months ago. Actually, we are approaching it at this very moment!” Ghetsis pulled into the valet parking for the hotel. “We’ll be leaving this vehicle soon, a chauffeur will park it for us. If you don’t mind, can you carry my briefcase that is beside your legs?”

“Oh! Only because I want to further analyze its molecular components, hee hee!”

“Mgrh, don’t scratch it, I paid more for that than I care to admit.”

“Pandora can do what they want!”

Ghetsis stopped the car as was greeted by a chauffeur, he exited his car and Colress followed suit.

The chauffeur spoke: “Welcome to the Venetian! Can you tell us your name?”

Ghetsis thought for a moment, “Colress Achroma.”

“Wh-”

“Thank you sir, do you have any luggage?”

“Only a suitcase in the back.”

“We’ll have that at your door in 15 minutes.”

“Alright.” Ghetsis gave his car keys to the chauffeur, “Let’s go, Colress.” They both walked to the reception hallway, embellished with Renaissance architectural motifs, marble collonade, and plant and angelic figures painted on the segmented rooftop. The hall was wide and quiet but populated with security, staff and a few guests. 

Colress said, “I didn’t give you permission to use my name!”

“What was I supposed to say?” Ghetsis whispered back, “by dawn my name will be of a wanted federal criminal!” They walked to the front desk.

“Welcome! Do you have a reservation?”

Ghetsis spoke: “No, but we’d like to stay for the day.”

“Alright, how many people are in your party?”

“Just us two.”

“Perfect, would a one-room, two-bed suite work?”

“It would, the one with the best view.”

“It may come at a higher price, is that ok?”

Colress mindlessly scanned the surroundings while Ghetsis haggled the price, using strange jargon such as “points” and “hotel club member.” Their eyes observed a strange, miniature figure that lined the back wall of the reception desk, Colress’ eyeglasses switched to a rectangular form. An animalesque appearance, the size of one’s palm, it had brown fur and tiny, circular ears and wore a striped shirt and a white cap, an oar was attached to its stub of a hand. It seemed to be soft. Colress communicated telepathically to Ghetsis, “I want that, the thing on the wall.” They pointed at the row of creatures.

Ghetsis grumbled, “A teddy bear? Why would you want one of these?”

“I want to know if it is as soft as it looks.”

“Not now.”

“I want one.”

“Col-”

The receptionist spoke up, “A teddy bear? You two are really some interesting guests.”

Ghetsis turned away from Colress, “Oh?”

“Yeah! With that get up and all. Are you two staying for a convention? Or maybe a secret movie shooting haha! Especially you Ms., that alien outfit looks so real!”

Colress looked at the attendant with their mouth slightly open, but said nothing.

Ghetsis intervened, “It’s an independent film we’re in, we can only hope that it reaches the big-name theaters.”

“Only time can tell,” the receptionist handed Ghetsis the room keycard, “enjoy your stay.”

Ghetsis and Colress walked to the elevator in silence due to the surrounding security guards. They entered and were thus alone. 

“You didn’t get me the teddy bear!”

“I don’t want to risk our plan by prolonged exposure to the public! We need to be careful.”

“Then why did you haggle for longer than was necessary?”

“I may be rich but I’m not passing up a deal!”

There was silence for a moment, Ghetsis looked at Colress since they were situated much closer to each other than their prior interactions. The well-lit elevator allowed for close observation. Colress had slicked back, silver-grey hair, with a light tinge of pink, this accompanied by a pair of antennae protruding from their forehead, with its tips in the yellow color of a daffodil. Colress’ azure battle horn loosely wrapped around their head, was it for cranial protection? Their irises were the yellow of the antennae, slightly covered with half-lidded eyes and accompanied by a small, aloof smile; their facial skin was a pale blue. They wore a four-armed coat, heavy and grey, with a darker, textured blue-grey on the glove’s segmented fingers and palms. A pair of epaulets gave the coat the impression of one belonging to an admiral. With this further observation, Ghetsis realized the androgyny of Colress’ appearance.

“Thinking of the recent event, I have yet to ask you the pronouns you prefer.”

“Oh? I am biologically lacking in gender. It doesn’t matter to me what humans refer to me as, although I’d prefer the use of something gender-neutral. But I understand that some languages don’t allow for such forms of address.”

“Alright, I’m glad to say that this language does have the neutral pronouns of ‘they and them’, unlike some other Latin-oriented languages, myaha!”

“I’m glad to hear,” Colress smiled genuinely, almost cutely.


	5. Chapter 5

The duo arrived at their room number and retrieved the suitcase from an attendant at the door. They went inside and closed the door, again in privacy, Ghetsis rolled his suitcase under a desk situated against the wall, and saw Colress gently place the briefcase on the table while looking at the scenery of the room, like a child in a new locale. Colress walked around the room, palpating surfaces with their analytical gloved palms. Ghetsis imagined Colress’ internal narration: “The desk was accompanied by a rolling chair of sorts, there is what appears to be a cooling box and heating box beside and under the desk, a second room is dedicated to human rituals of self-hygiene.” Colress gazed intently at those nuances as two of their hands typed on the others’ console simultaneously, as if they lacked the minute impediments of human left to right brain interaction. It was almost endearing. Ghetsis spoke: “Not to impede your analysis of our room, but I’m going to rest a bit on the bed closest to the door, feel free to experiment with the human sleep cycle on the other bed.” He sat down on his bed.

“Oh! The one closer to the window? Are you afraid of heights? Hee hee!”

“W-what? No!”

“Then why did you cower from the window bed?” Colress playfully jumped onto the window bed in a cat-like motion.

Ghetsis felt his face redden, he stood up from his bed. “Mrrgh! It’s not a case of cowering, I only thought that you would appreciate the view, given that this is your first time in Las Vegas.”

Colress made a high pitched “Hm?” They parted the curtains of the balcony and gasped at the view. A panoramic image depicted the resort’s golden lights and pools below. The neon glow of the city was still visible from afar. It almost seemed like an aerial view! Colress thought of their frigate: “Oh! My frigate, how much I miss-” Colress paused as they heard no noise from Ghetsis. They turned around to see Ghetsis laying down, out cold, in an almost, fetal like position, with his face and body covered by the collar of his cloak. Colress’ antennae curled, “Humans are so fascinating!” Colress proceed to close the curtains of the window, put a banket over Ghetsis and reached to remove his eyepiece, but retracted their hand. They stood for a moment, “The human sleep cycle… fine then! I will wake with the first light of day!” They snuggled into their bed, so cozy! Colress was compelled to describe the comfort on their consoles but soon drifted into sleep.

  
  


Ghetsis is a light, restless sleeper, and is typically unable to reach REM sleep, although, today’s particularly exhausting events compelled him to dream. He lay on a grassy hill and was unable to stand up; but his eyes were glued to the stars above by choice. Ghetsis noticed that Colress lay next to him, also looking at the stars. Turning to Colress, Ghetsis felt an almost childlike interest towards the extraterrestrial and desired to speak with them, but then Colress was depicted not as an alien, but as a human! They lacked their extra limbs and had soft, pale skin. Ghetsis was in shock, but stared a moment longer and realized that his fascination did not wane. Although now uncorrelated with the fantasy of space, Colress remained as compelling as before. This emotion perplexed Ghetsis as he wondered about the root of the fondness he experienced. He reached his hand out to the figure, but was immediately compelled to turn back to the void above, omnipotent, present, and terrifying - he was abruptly awakened. 

“Sunrise!” Colress exclaimed as they parted the curtains, light flooded the darkened room, expelling the void.

“Myah!” Ghetsis hid further into the blanket.

“Oh? I thought that humans were compelled to rise at the light of day!”

“Not immediately, it takes us a moment to awaken from our dreams.”

“Humans dream as well? Oh! I should analyze your sleep cycle next time, hee hee.”

“Perhaps,” Ghetsis tiredly rubbed his face with his gloved hand, stood up, grabbed his suitcase, and locked himself in the bathroom.

“Huh?” Colress stood in confusion until they heard water running, most likely a human hygiene ritual. Their eyes wandered back to the spot Ghetsis slept in, and next to his blanket was his cloak! “Analysis…” whispered Colress. They took a small step forward, then briefly ran to seize the cloak. Their glasses took a rectangular form as they traced the seams of the cloak with their hand. “What design! There must be none other like this,” they paused and went outside to the balcony, still cradling the cloak, they looked down to the pools and outside dining tables, rich with human life and interaction, an amalgamation of test subjects! “Ah! My frigate, how I await my return to you, my equipment, my technology! I itch to analyze this Earthling fauna - a world, a world of test subjects!” Their tranquil smile grew maniacal, twisted in a harrowing show of malice. “How dare humanity attempt to contain Colress, such pitiful creatures against such a being as I!-” The water stopped running - Colress stopped yelling. A soundless air consumed them. They gazed at the humans once more with a new context, something yet to be explored, and felt apathy. “Oh, none are like-“ 

The bathroom door opened. 

Colress sprinted to return the cloak to its prior position and with their momentum rolled across Ghetsis’ bed and slammed against the wall.

Ghetsis stood stupefied, “Wh- what did you do?”

“What did you see?”

“See? I saw you slam into the wall like some feral creature.”

“Hee hee, because that’s what I did!”

Ghetsis squinted at Colress, but, was ultimately charmed. “Anyways, we will be leaving Las Vegas by the end of the day. Apparently this hotel has excellent restaurants, let’s go eat breakfast.”

“Food!” Colress smiled, “I hope it tastes better than what they force-fed me in the prison room.”

“Well, of course! Food is a wonderful thing.”

“I look forward to it! But I do wonder, will the public be wary of my appearance? The attendant yesterday thought I was a human in costume…” 

“Hm,” Ghetsis pondered for a bit. “I have an idea, are you able to take off your coat?”

“My coat! My coat?” But it has technological functions that I might need!”

“True, but the government most likely recognizes your coat and it would be difficult to conceal such a heavy apparatus.”

“You're right, although I am severely unaccustomed to being coatless,” Colress unbuttoned and removed their grey coat, folded it neatly, and set it on the bed. They wore a black button-up dress shirt underneath that had blue buttons, and a blue center stripe and collar; they wore thin black gloves, and their usual matching black pants and boots.

“Do not worry!” Ghetsis grabbed his cloak and draped it onto Colress’ shoulders.

“Oh!” Colress felt their face heat up. Was it due to embarrassment?

“Ah! I didn’t ask”, Ghetsis averted his eyes in true embarrassment.

“No, no, it’s ok! It was only unexpected, that’s why I was surprised. This is a perfect disguise! It hides my unconventional amount of limbs - hee hee!” Colress twirled around in appreciation of the cloak.

Ghetsis sighed in relief, “Then I’m glad it can be put to good use, but how should we conceal your antennae?” 

“My antennae? Oh but they can be a bit sensitive.”

“Are you able to slick them back with your hair?”

“That I can do! Although I’d need something to hold them in place.”

“I believe I have something that could help,” Ghetsis rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out two hairpins, “I can use these to gently pin down your antennae, may I?”

Colress tilted their head, “Oh, alright.” They sat down on the bed.

Ghetsis sat close beside them, and pinned down Colress’ antennae.

“Oh!” Colress stood up in surprise, their telekinetic voice was terribly muffled. “What- sensation!- … must- in research! ...hear? Gh-sis! M-!” They waved their arms slightly in scientific excitement with brightness in their eyes. 

Ghetsis was entirely perplexed at this scene, “I can take them off if you’d like,” he reached towards Colress’ antennae but the alien retreated and shook their head. They paused with their eyes closed, seemingly to compose themself, and their lips moved slowly to pronounce:

“Ghetsis.”

“Myah!” Ghetsis was stricken aback by the strange gesture conducted by such an inexperienced yet lovely voice. Strange emotion overwhelmed him as he felt his face redden, “What was that for?”

“Hee hee,” Colress smiled cutely.

“Ah, you plot only to make me lose my composure.” Ghetsis grumbled to himself as he sat down, making a flimsy attempt at pretending to brood.

Colress nodded as they scrunched their nose playfully. They pointed at the door.

“Yes, you’re right, it’s time to eat.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ghetsis led the way to the in-hotel restaurant, it was about noon. Colress followed, lagging behind in observation of the reception hall, now bustling with life. Their eyeglasses transformed into its signature orbicular form, they observed energetic, miniature humans that stopped playing to stare at the disguised alien, Colress grimaced at their rudeness. A small indoor shop caught Colress’ eye, it had an interior lined with what seemed like trinkets and books, oh books! It has been years since Colress has touched a paper-based book, their curiosity took over as they approached a rack in front of the store and swiped a book, hiding it in their cloak. 

“Hello!”

Colress flinched and turned around, to see another one of those children.

“Your skin is blue, that’s weird.”

Colress furrowed their brows in offense and thought: “insufferable human,” they then turned and left to catch up with Ghetsis. They walked to the restaurant, fittingly upscale Americanized Italian cuisine. The seating was outside, exposing the diners to the splendid view of Venetian architecture and canals, with highly arched, embellished bridges decorating the scenery. Colress’ hands involuntarily rested on their opposing forearm, tapping, although there was no console to receive it. The brash morning sunrays were dispelled by large umbrellas - the duo sat down. Ghetsis was preoccupied, thinking about how to understand Colress and what they’d like to eat, all while he was handed two menus by a server. Colress on the other hand, spaced out to the strange, undefined words Ghetsis was listing: “coffee… expensive… soup…caprese… pasta…”; because of this, the alien resolved to explore the menu Ghetsis wasn’t holding at the moment. Their eyeglasses transformed into an elliptical form, to easily decipher the human text, but the text was irrelevant to the neatly colored images of the menu items, particularly a meat item that read “steak.”

The waiter spoke; “Would you two like to order anything else?”

Colress perked up and pointed at the menu item.

“The chef’s special steak and salad?”

Colress nodded cooly.

Ghetsis was confused; but he accepted it.

“How would you like it done?” said the waiter.

Colress turned to Ghetsis, maintaining their cool expression in a playful sense.

“Well done?”

Colress shook their head.

“Medium?”

Colress shook their head.

“Rare?”

“Colress nodded vigorously.

Again, Ghetsis was confused as to the origin of Colress’ doneness preference; but he didn’t judge. 

The waiter spoke again: “Ok, your food will be ready in about 20 minutes, I’ll bring the coffee in a moment.” They left.

Colress tilted their head to the side, “Co..ffee?”

Ghetsis squinted his eyes, “Rare steak?”

Colress giggled.

“Will you solely communicate with head movements and giggles now? I do miss your lively commentary.”

Colress stuck out their tongue.

“Great, now another crude method of communication.”

The alien rolled their eyes and pulled out the book they previously swiped, and placed it on the table, sliding it to Ghetsis while maintaining an aloof face.

“What’s this, _The Little Prince_? Where did you get it?”

The waiter returned and placed two cups of coffee on the table and left.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Ghetsis sipped his drink.

In response to Ghetsis’s questioning, Colress only made their signature wry smile and clasped their hands. They then took the cup of coffee beside them and sipped it gently, oh! Such a wonderfully warm flavor marked with the pleasantly sweet taste of cane sugar and cinnamon. An underlying bitterness is present but softened by the combined forces of the other two ingredients. 

Ghetsis continued: “Oh? Petty robbery? I can’t say that I’m not impressed.” Ghetsis flipped through the book, briefly analyzing the illustrations on each page.

Colress excitedly tapped the table with their hands and smiled with their eyes.

“...do you wish for me to read the book to you?”

Colress clapped their hands.

“Ah, I understand, you’d like to learn how to physically speak the English language. I’ll be glad to help you, but let me first show you our alphabet. Ghetsis pulled out a pen from the front pocket of his black dress shirt and began to write the letters “a” to “z” on the blank inside of the book cover. Colress’ eyeglasses transformed into their circular form to record the lesson. “You intend to record this? Good. Repetition is the key to retention. Now,” Ghetsis used his pen to point at the first letter written in its two forms: “A” and “a”. Ghetsis spoke: “This is ‘A’, the pronunciation varies such as in ‘apple’ or ‘apricot,’” Ghetsis wrote down the two words and underlined the ‘a’s in both. “Oh and this letter, like any letter, can occur anywhere in the word and even multiple times, such as in ‘savannah.’” He wrote the word down. Colress pointed at the “a”s in the word. Ghetsis smiled: “Very good Colress!” Ghetsis then provided small illustrations for each word such as a bee, all the way to a zebra. “...and thus concludes our first lesson in the English alphabet.” The paper was filled with words, letters, and surrounding drawings. Colress was in awe at such a sight. Ghetsis continued: “And just in time as well, our food has arrived!” 

A duo of waitresses plated the table, Colress loosely observed Ghetsis’ complete meal of soup, salad, and pasta but was more interested in the platter of appetizing steak set on the table along with a smaller platter of greens that are what Colress assumes to be a salad.

“Enjoy your meal.” The waitresses left. 

“Colress, you need to use the utensils.”

Colress was already biting down on the steak, their eyes gleaming in reaction to most likely the exquisite flavor.

“Colress,”

“G,sis” Colress muffled with their eyebrows raised, still tearing at the steak.

Again, Ghetsis won’t ask further into the alien’s preference in food and the way to eat it. But the steak did look, admittedly, delicious.

Colress grabbed the utensils and began to eat the salad, smiling at the dancing flavor of the lettuce, olive oil, and cherry tomatoes, and onions and avocados! They smiled their cute, genuine smile. 

Ghetsis, moved by Colress’ expression, offered the alien some of his own food: “You eat like you’ve never eaten before, myaha.” He used his fork to grab a tomato and mozzarella slice from his Caprese salad and fed it to Colress, Colress happily ate from Ghetsis’ fork and then offered some of their own food to Ghetsis. Once they finished eating most of the food, Ghetsis resumed the lesson, “Colress, would you like me to read the book for you?”

Colress gazed at Ghetsis brightly. 

“Myahaha, of course,” he opened to the first page and handed the book to Colress. Colress looked perplexed. “I’ve memorized the first few lines, you can observe the text and illustrations as I read:”

_“Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing."_

Colress traced their fingers over the illustration in the book in analysis. Ghetsis continued to speak, slowly but with perfect articulation.

_"...I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man._

_So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago... I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise, when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said:_

_'If you please--draw me a sheep!'_

_... I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. I blinked my eyes hard. I looked carefully all around me. And I saw a most extraordinary small person, who stood there examining me with great seriousness. Here you may see the best portrait that, later, I was able to make of him. But my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model."_

Colress looked at the splendid illustration of The Little Prince dressed in a royal cloak of red and blue, but deduced that Ghetsis’ drawings are far more charming, they pointed to Ghetsis’ pen.

“Do you want me to draw something?”

Colress nodded and pointed at themself.

“Ah!” Ghetsis became flustered, “Why would w-you want that? My portraiture skills are nothing but rusty.”

Colress shook their head and handed Ghetsis the book, a canvas for Ghetsis. 

“Mygh, alright.” Ghetsis began to sketch at the blank paper side of the back cover. Colress smiled in glee at Ghetsis who glanced up to meet their eyes often, but would then return to his hidden sketch.

While Ghetsis continued to draw, Colress noted a waiter carrying a rather large bottle, Ghetsis saw this, “Oh? Would you like to try wine?” 

Colress nodded.

“Then let me order some.” Ghetsis closed the book with the sketch inside and set it down on the table, “Although there is a wide array of options, lunchtime calls for a wine with low alcohol content, preferably sweet and carbonated. Waiter!” In five minutes, Ghetsis and Colress had two cups of the light pinkish beverage served to them along with two cups of water. Ghetsis took a sip, “the trick is to never let the alcohol impair you, you do this by eating food or drinking water, and to only consider wine as an addition to meals. Only sip little by little, and stop whenever you’d like, I’m not too sure of your tolerance given your non-human digestive system.” 

Colress smiled.

“In any case, cheers!” They clinked their cups and sipped. Ghetsis however, glanced to the right of Colress to see hidden movement in the distance, creeping towards them. Ghetsis whispered, “we’ve remained here for too long, the feds are here.” He saw Colress’ smile turn into a grimace and noted their eyes looking behind him. Before Ghetsis could turn, the alien stood up and threw their glass at a government agent that was behind Ghetsis, the agent recoiled in pain. Restaurant patrons stood up in shock, an agent yelled: “Detain them!” Colress picked up their book, jumped on the table, and picked up Ghetsis. “Colress!” Ghetsis wrapped his arms around Colress’ neck as Colress began jumping across tables avoiding the scrambling citizens and running away from the government agents. “Shoot!” there was loud banging and screams of terror behind Colress, plates and cups shattered but the bullets missed their target. Colress hopped onto the fence that bordered the restaurant and canal and jumped in a show of superhuman strength into a parallel restaurant and smashed through its bordering glass windows. More yelling followed. Ghetsis spoke: 

“Colress, we need to retrieve your coat from the hotel room!” 

“Yes, my boots have a gravity altering function, so we can easily fly up the side of the building into our room.”

“Its two floors below the upmost floor, it’s easier to go from the roof down.”

“Ok.” Colress held Ghetsis tightly and quickly floated out and up onto the roof of the restaurant and ran towards the main hotel.

“They’re coming onto the roofs!” said Ghetsis.

“Halt!” yelled a soldier.

Colress stepped once more until they launched up the side of the hotel, guns fired behind them once more although Colress moved too fast to be hit. Ghetsis was amazed at the view of the rapidly expanding sky. Finally reaching the roof, three armed guards protected the stairwell down but were facing away from our protagonists. Colress gently put Ghetsis down in preparation for combat. They ran up to the guards, Colress punched one unconscious, Ghetsis choked another and slammed the guard onto the floor and took their handgun and shot the remaining one in the shoulder who was then kicked off the roof by Colress. 

“Let’s go!” Ghetsis yelled. Both hurried down the stairway to their hotel room and locked the door behind them. Ghetsis quickly grabbed his briefcase while Colress equipped his coat and hurridly stowed Ghetsis’ cloak inside of it. A yell came from outside the room “We have you surrounded! Surrender now!” followed by slamming on the door. Ghetsis stiffened, but Colress had a plan, they hugged Ghetsis and threw themself and him to the floor between the beds. Colress removed the pins from their antennae and telepathically communicated:

“My console has an invisibility function, touching it will make you invisible too.”

Ghetsis heard Colress say this and soon saw them disappear, Ghetsis looked to his side and couldn’t see his own hand that held the gun. The door slammed open, Colress’ embrace tightened in a sort of flinch, Ghetsis felt Colress’ hand reaching for the gun in his hand, Ghetsis let go of it accordingly although his hand shook. Colress quickly stood up still invisible and shot all five of the unsuspecting agents down. Colress scooped up Ghetsis once more but then gently pressed their forehead against Ghetsis’ as a way of saying “don’t worry.”

Colress proceeded to run down the main hall to the hotel stairs. They arrived at the main lobby and went down the grand final set of stairs, soldiers were rounding up confused groups of citizens. Colress crept to the back of the reception desk and swiped one of the well-dressed teddy bears, and then gave it to Ghetsis to hold. They walked steadily out of the hall, knowing that their invisibility granted them practical invincibility. 

“Ghetsis,”

Ghetsis raised his head near Colress’ ear and whispered: “What?”

“How should we escape the city?”

“Just take us to my car, it doesn’t have my name tied to it.”

“Of course.”

“Colress?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you give me a teddy bear?”

“It’s not for you, it’s for me to experiment on.”

“What kind of experiment would one conduct on a teddy bear?”

“To test its softness of course!”

“What, are you going to snuggle it as you meticulously record data?”

Colress tightened their hold on Ghetsis, “Of course!”

Ghetsis rolled his eyes although he felt a warmth on his face. 

Colress proceeded into the valet parking and casually swiped Ghetsis’ keys. They then finally arrived to his car. Colress deactivated the invisibility device.

“Where to?” asked Colress.

“Well, it is almost 4 o’clock. The government is on our trail, it would be unwise to go directly North, they’d be waiting for us. Perhaps it’s best to go South to shake them off our tracks…”

“South?”

“Yes, do you mind the detour?”

“Not at all!,” Colress smiled genuinely. They saw Ghetsis’ eyes brighten.

“Myaha! Alright then. Colress, We’re going to San Diego.”


	7. Chapter 7

Colress observed the bright, desert city dwindle to barren, dry land. They pulled out their book and flipped through the pages.

“Careful, you don’t want to spoil the ending for yourself.”

Colress paused on a page halfway through the book in reaction. They looked at it inquisitively and began to speak with their mouth, slowly but surely, lacking in skilled expression or consistent pace as they replayed some of the recordings from the lesson on their glasses lense to dissect the pronunciation of certain words:

_"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."_

_"I am a fox," the fox said._

_"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."_

_"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."_

“Very good Colress! You most certainly learn at a pace far quicker than humans.”

Colress smiled at the compliment and read with more confidence:

_"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince._

_But, after some thought, he added:_

_"What does that mean--'tame'?"_

_"You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?"_

_"I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean--'tame'?"_

_"Men," said the fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?"_

_"No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"_

_"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."_

_"'To establish ties'?"_

_"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."_

“Ghetsis, do humans tame one another?”

“Of course, it's an undeniable aspect of human nature.”

“Have you tamed people?”

“I like to think that I have done so.”

“Have you ever been tamed?”

“Perhaps during childhood, but not since then.”

“Hm, perhaps I have been tamed - by my teddy bear.” Colress put down the book and grabbed onto the teddy bear beside them and actively cuddled it and mewled at its softness.

Ghetsis became annoyed “Do you mind? A five hour drive is exhausting enough.”

“Hmph, you’re just jealous!”

“Jealous? Why would I ever want to cuddle you-your annoying stuffed animal!”

“I don’t know, but I can argue that this stuffed animal is the most cuddly, coziest, snuggleable being on this planet.” Colress yawned a bit.

Ghetsis grumbled to himself but calmed down, “Are you tired? It's fine if you’d like to take a nap.”

“Oh! Really? How festive! I’ve yet to take a human length nap before.”

“Then you should try it. I’ll turn on the radio to keep me company in your absence.”

“You’ll miss me that much? Perhaps we’re a bit more than business partners then, hee hee!”

“I will. And, perhaps. Take your nap, Colress.”

Colress was left to ponder at the final remark. In secret, they really did believe that their relationship with Ghetsis was beyond just business partners, the man was just too fascinating, too wonderful, too- But, before Colress could ponder more, they drifted off into a warm nap. 

Colress experienced confusing dreams regarding their life in space, drifting here and there, but a lengthy fantasy commenced. The extraterrestrial is naturally uncompelled to the desire of a pair bond; companionship or personal closeness is easily deemed as unnecessary. Colress speculates this to be because of their species’ genetic, physical, and psychological makeup, but they wonder to what extent their individuality affects their stance on affection. They’ve never met another one of their species, so how can Colress ever distinguish from nature and nurture? Regardless, their usual dreamy feelings of ice blue and crisp metal melted into a warm softness of pink and gold. Such an unfamiliar sensation terrified Colress, but conversely soothed and captivated them. What is this feeling? Colress wanted to label this phenomenon, desperately, as if they knew what it was. “Think, think. What is it? It’s, it is:

“Ghetsis.”

Colress gasped and put their hands on their blushing face. They woke up abruptly. The car wasn’t moving, it was parked beside the road. Colress quickly turned to Ghetsis in amazement, but was met with a tragic face. Colress felt their soul sink.

“What’s wrong, Ghetsis?”

“The situation is slipping out of my control.” Ghetsis furrowed their brows.

“This?”

“What of the moment we were surrounded in the hotel room? Your invisibility cloak was crucial to our escape, but it’s you! You’ll be fine and will be free to explore the world as you please. Perhaps at the end of our bargain, I will be awaited on Earth, incarcerated without a trial and sentenced to never see the light of day again.” Ghetsis’ voice was tinged with pain and desperation.

“But didn’t you say you could find yourself out of any predicament with your wit?” Colress said quickly.

“Perhaps, but I fear that by then I will be lacking in sufficient motivation to act against anything.”

Colress winced. “Why do you lead yourself into such an early destruction? You can always back out of our deal if you’d prefer.”

Ghetsis’ voice turned aggressive: “Colress, how cruel of you to offer that. I will not turn my back to you, I know you observe me, when my eyes light up, when I look at the sky longingly, so you have no case against my affections for you. If I have power over myself, I will never leave you. I long for you, you’re my childhood fantasies of space and the stars, the extraterrestrial and breathtaking universe! But there may be a moment in which I am no use to you, and I hate to admit it, but you have the power to toss the most powerful of monarchs away into deep oblivion, a-and can toss me as well as you please. And I understand what this all means, perhaps I am humanity’s Pandora, bestowing you into freedom. I am humanity’s enemy, with a future cursed in isolation with no kin.” Ghetsis paused as his voice began to crack up with emotion, “I only lament my eventual downfall, ironically one that will be before I’ve even gained significant power. I feel no regret for my actions, however. I would do it all again.”

Colress felt themself tremble deeply. “...Ghetsis, I know how it feels to live in desperate isolation, and I would never curse you to such a fate. Our deal may end once we’re on our ship, but what we have together might never end. I care for you and wish for you to live happily. We’re more than business partners, Ghetsis. If you do not mind.”

“Colress, do you mean that?” Ghetsis trembled and looked directly at Colress, he had tears in his eyes. 

“Yes.”

“Then Colress,” Ghetsis took Colress’ hand, “confide in me just as I confide in you. Please, be my one and only friend.”

Colress lightly squeezed Ghetsis’ hand. Their eyes felt an unfamiliar dampness almost trickle down. “I will.”

They moved to each other and hugged briefly, but it was a hug of understanding and bond.

“And Colress, regarding one of our first conversations, I know you won’t let this planet deteriorate at your hand, you‘ve come to adore it.” Ghetsis smiled kindly.

“Haha, you may be right. But I think, I’ve come to adore you as well."

“Colress,”

“Ghetsis, you’ve tamed me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! This is the end of my first major update to the fic, I will update several chapters at a time in the future, and although it would mean longer delays between updates, I do it to assure at least some continuity between chapters. Thank you for taking the time to read this; and,  
> thus concludes part one!


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